


Ash

by rainsoakedshoes



Series: 30 Days of Sterek [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Derek-centric, M/M, Post Season 4, Self-Loathing, discussion of rebuilding the Hale House
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:39:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3061256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsoakedshoes/pseuds/rainsoakedshoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of season 4 Derek buys back his families old property. He and Stiles go out to the site to figure out what Derek wants to do with the property. On the way they discuss some of the events that proceeded finding a de-aged Derek in Mexico.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ash

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 - Ash  
> i had two ideas for this, and i decided to go with the less angsty one. dont worry 28 days left to make u cry!

It was a spur of the moment decision and a hint of good luck that saw Derek buying back the land his parents had once owned.

The funding for the housing estate that was planned fell through, and the owners were looking for a quick resale to get the property off their hands. Unfortunately because of the history of the land, and the attached price tag, there were very few potential buyers.

Derek didn’t feel any guilt about using Peter’s money to buy the land back. It felt right doing something good with the money after all the bad that had plagued Beacon Hills. And with Peter locked up it wasn’t like he was going to be using the money.

Even after the sale had gone through it still took a long while before Derek was comfortable going back to the site of his old home.

He had two very real memories of seeing his family home as a pile of rubble and ash for the first time. The first from that night, when the ground was still warm and he and Laura clung to each other as the officers told them what had happened. And the second memory, from when he was scared and confused after being found by people he didn’t know in Mexico. It was still overwhelming for Derek to think about how both memories were real. He had literally lived the loss of finding out his family was gone twice.

To Derek’s surprise it was Stiles who showed up at the loft to finally drag him over to the property.

“Today is the day.” Stiles was pulling on Derek’s arm like he actually had a chance of shifting the werewolf from the couch. “We’re going to the property now. No more putting it off.”

“Why today?” Derek asked.

“Because you’ve put it off for two weeks already,” Stiles said. “It’s time to visit and decide what you want to do.”

“You’ve been talking to Scott,” Derek sighed. Stiles was saying exactly the same thing that the alpha had been saying.

“Yeah I tend to do that a lot,” Stiles said. He pulled on Derek’s arm again but the werewolf still didn’t budge. “But Scott and I actually agree on this one.”

“Don’t you and Scott agree on everything?”

“Stop trying to change the subject.” Stiles resisted the urge to literally stamp his foot. “Now get up. We’re leaving.”

Derek let out a long sigh, but he stood. He didn’t bother with a jacket, just pocketed his keys and wallet, and then followed Stiles out of the loft.

“I’m driving,” Stiles announced. He climbed behind the wheel of his jeep and looked at Derek expectantly. Derek rolled his eyes, but once again he didn’t argue with Stiles and got into the passenger seat.

“It’s a miracle this thing made it to Mexico and back,” Derek said as the jeep shuddered to life.

“Well, you know, it almost didn’t,” Stiles shrugged. Derek looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Huh, I guess you wouldn’t know,” Stiles continued. “I suppose after we got back everything happened so fast no one thought to fill you in on what happened when we were down there.”

“What happened?” Derek asked. He’d heard some of it, he knew they had a run in with the Calavera’s but that was about it. They’d had more pressing matters to focus on after returning to Beacon Hills. “What happened before you found me?”

“Well the highlights include: Trying to pay the Calavera’s fifty thousand dollars to get you back. That back fired on us, and Scott ended up getting tortured; that’s how we found out Kate had you. On our way to the church the jeep broke down and we had to split up. Berserkers, which as you know are always tons of fun. Then coming face to face with a teenage you. It was a very strange day.”

“I always wondered how you knew it was me,” Derek said. He was staring straight ahead out the windshield at the road.

Stiles shrugged again. “We just knew.”

The two men were quiet for a while. The only noise came from the radio that was playing a pop song Derek vaguely recognised.

“Fifty thousand dollars?” Derek asked. The drive from the loft to the property wasn’t that far, and as they got closer the more anxious Derek got. He wanted to ask questions to keep out of his own mind.

Stiles took his eyes off the road to look at Derek. “It’s all the money we could get.”

“You were going to give the Calavera’s all the money you had to get me back?"

Stiles could still hear Araya Calavera’s voice in his head.

_Now I wonder why, when you and your friends have suffered so much loss, you would risk it again for someone like Derek Hale?_

Stiles glanced at Derek. Araya had greatly underestimated how important Derek was. “We did whatever we had to,” he said, then focused on the road again.

Derek shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn’t comprehend that they had risked their lives to save him.

“Before she left Braeden mentioned how you were okay with not coming back alive when we went to rescue Scott and Kira,” Stiles said after a few beats of silence.

It was Derek’s turn to shrug. “As long as Scott and Kira were safe nothing else mattered.”

Stiles nodded along to what Derek was saying. “You’re an idiot, obviously. _But_ you understand why we had to do everything we could to get you back.”

“You’re comparing me to Scott and Kira?” Derek couldn’t keep the self-loathing out of his voice. Scott was, well, he was _Scott_. The true alpha whose only objective was to protect people. And Derek didn’t think it was possible for someone to dislike Kira. He was nothing like either of them.

“You’re pack,” Stiles said. “You of all people should know what that means.”

The two men fell silent again. Stiles sang along to a Fall Out Boy song that came on the radio, but didn’t talk to Derek.

There was a fence up so Stiles couldn’t park close to the old site of the house. He pulled over nearby and shut the jeeps engine off. Derek looked out the car window at the fenced off area.

The last of the rubble and timber had been moved away. The only remaining evidence of the house was the parts of the foundation that would have to be dug up. Even after all the years that had passed, and all the work that had been done, there was still ash on the ground mixed in with the dirt.

Derek got out of the jeep and walked over to the fence. He had the key to the lock and unlocked it. The fence swung inward but Derek stayed still. Stiles hung back, waiting for Derek to move first.

Ash and dirt covered Derek’s shoes as he walked into the centre of where the house once stood. He knelt down and ran his fingers through the dirt.

The first time he had done that the dirt was warm and wet from the fire and the water, and smoke filled the air.

The second time he had been terrified out of his mind and then the police had shown up.

This time Stiles stood behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“What do you want to do with the land?” Stiles asked.

“I want to rebuild,” Derek said. He sat down properly on the ground. “I want to make it a place for the pack. Like it used to be.”

Stiles sat down next to Derek, with his knees drawn up to his chest. “I wish I knew what it used to look like,” he said. “Before it was a burnt out shell that you were squatting in.”

Derek laughed at that. “That feels like a lifetime ago.”

Stiles nodded in agreement. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” he said. “Everything we’ve been through.”

Derek reached out and took Stiles’ hand in his. He half expected the younger man to pull away, but Stiles laced his fingers with Derek’s.

“What do you think?” Derek asked. “Do you think I should rebuild?”

Stiles leaned in and rested his head against Derek’s shoulder. “Well, neither of us are known for our sound decision making,” he said. “But I think if you want to do it then you should.”

Derek squeezed Stiles’ hand. His mind was made up. “I’m going to make it a home again.”

**Author's Note:**

> i spend what is probably an embarrassing amount of time on [tumblr](http://heavenlyhale.tumblr.com/) and im always up to talk!


End file.
